83 replies to this topic

[Ron Reed]

QUOTE

I'll post here in the next day or two---we should keep the nominations open until...3/1?

Yeah, that sounds like a good target.

QUOTE

ALSO--I question calling this a top-100 \"Christian\" films list, but instead the Top 100 list from Christian Film Lovers...

Yes, a good question to engage. Personally, I'm convinced that "Christian" makes an excellent noun but an appalling adjective, and am pretty sure that's the last thing we want to actually title our list. I kinda just slapped it on there as shorthand. In any case, may I encourage you to pursue these questions in the separate thread set up for that discussion? Thanks!


Ron

[Jason Bortz]

Where....is Shadowlands...?

[Jason Bortz]

Here're ten more in addition to Shadowlands for consideration--I left out titles that have already been listed above...


Amadeus (Milos Forman, 1984)
American History X (Tony Kaye, 1998)
Cry Freedom (Richard Attenborough, 1987)
Jeremiah Johnson (Syndey Pollack, 1972)
Peter and Paul (Robert Day, 1981)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)
Ran (Akira Kurosawa, 1985)
A River Runs Through It (Robert Redford, 1992)
The Seventh Sign (Carl Schultz, 1988)
Yentl (Barbra Streisand, 1983)

[Darrel Manson]

Agnes of God

[Peter T Chattaway]

I don't think anyone has yet mentioned the films of Hal Hartley, some of which -- Amateur, Henry Fool, Book of Life -- may be pertinent here.

[MattPage]

I'll second Book of Life, X-men & The Apostle

Also If we're going to add evrything can I suggest Bruce Almighty. High art it's not, but it takes a surprisingly good look at spiritual issues given the shallowness of its genre.

Matt

[Ron Reed]

I probably won't have access to email until next Wednesday, so in the meantime here's the latest update on the list, incorporating your further suggestions and some others I came up with. Keep 'em coming!

THE PROMONTORY 100: Nominees
(Feb 20, 2004)

1. 13 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING (2002) P02
2. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
3. THE ADDICTION
4. THE ADVENTURES OF BARON VON MUNCHAUSEN
5. AGNES OF GOD (Norman Jewison)
6. AMADEUS (Milos Forman, 1984)
7. AMATEUR (Hal Hartley)
8. AMERICAN BEAUTY
9. AMERICAN HISTORY X (Tony Kaye, 1998)
10. AMISTAD
11. L'AMORE ("Ways of Love," Roberto Rossellini, 1948) M
12. ANDREI ROUBLEV (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1969) M VR
13. ANGEL HEART
14. THE APOSTLE (Robert Duvall)
15. L'ARGENT
16. AU HASARD BALTHAZAR (Robert Bresson, 1966) M
17. AU REVOIR, LES ENFANTS (Louis Malle, 1987) VV
18. BABETTE'S FEAST ("Babettes Gaestebud", Gabriel Axel, 1987) M VR
19. BAD LIEUTENANT (Abel Ferrara, 1992) M
20. BARCELONA (Whit Stillman, 1994)
21. BECKET
22. BEDAZZLED (1967)
23. THE BELIEVER
24. BEN-HUR (William Wyler, 1959) VR
25. THE BICYCLE THIEF (Vittorio de Sica, 1948) VV
26. THE BIG KAHUNA
27. BLACK ROBE
28. BLADE RUNNER
29. BLAISE PASCAL
30. THE BLOOD OF JESUS
31. BOOK OF LIFE (Hal Hartley)
32. BREAKING THE WAVES (Lars von Trier, 1996) M
33. BROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON
34. BRUCE ALMIGHTY
35. THE BURMESE HARP (Kon Ichikawa, 1956) VV
36. CHANGING LANES (2002) P02
37. CHARIOTS OF FIRE (Hugh Hudson, 1981) VV
38. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (Steven Spielberg, 1977) M
39. CLOSE-UP
40. COOL HAND LUKE
41. COTTON PATCH GOSPEL
42. CRIMES & MISDEMEANORS (Woody Allen, 1989) M
43. CRY FREEDOM (Richard Attenborough, 1987)
44. A CRY IN THE DARK
45. DAY OF WRATH ("Vredens dag," Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1943) M
46. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
47. DAYS OF HEAVEN
48. DEAD MAN WALKING
49. DEKALOG (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994) VV
50. DERSU UZALA (Kurosawa, 1974) VV
51. THE DEVIL PROBABLY (Robert Bresson, 1977) M
52. DIARY OF A COUNTRY PRIEST
53. DO THE RIGHT THING
54. DOGMA
55. DONNIE DARKO
56. ELEPHANT MAN
57. EUREKA (2000)
58. EUROPA '51
59. FACES
60. FEARLESS
61. FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (Norman Jewison)
62. FIELD OF DREAMS
63. FIGHT CLUB
64. THE FLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS (Roberto Rossellini, 1950) M VR
65. THE FOUNTAINHEAD
66. FRANCESCO (Liliana Cavani, 1989) VR
67. GANDHI (Richard Attenborough, 1982) VV
68. GATES OF HEAVEN
69. GERTRUD
70. GET ON THE BUS
71. GODSPELL
72. GOSPEL ACCORDING TO SAINT MATTHEW (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1964) VR
73. GRAND CANYON
74. THE GREEN RAY ("Le rayon vert", Eric Rohmer, 1986) M
75. THE GREEN ROOM ("Le chambre verte," Francois Truffaut, 1978) M
76. GROUNDHOG DAY (Harold Ramis, 1993) M
77. HARDCORE
78. HELL HOUSE (2002) P02
79. HENRY FOOL (Hal Hartley)
80. THE HIDING PLACE
81. THE IDIOT
82. IKIRU
83. AN INSPECTOR CALLS
84. INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE
85. INTOLERANCE (D.W. Griffith, 1916) VV
86. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (Frank Capra, 1946) VV
87. ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS
88. JACOB'S LADDER
89. JEAN DE FLORETTE
90. JEREMIAH JOHNSON (Syndey Pollack, 1972)
91. JESUS CHRIST, SUPERSTAR (Norman Jewison)
92. JESUS OF MONTREAL
93. JESUS OF NAZARETH
94. JOSHUA
95. THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO (Whit Stillman, 1998)
96. THE LAST LAUGH
97. THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST
98. THE LAST WAVE (Peter Weir)
99. LEFT BEHIND
100. THE LIFE & PASSION OF CHRIST (Ferdinand Zecca, 1903) VR
101. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
102. THE LIFE OF BRIAN
103. THE LIFE OF OHARU
104. LORD OF THE RINGS (Peter Jackson, 2001-2003) P02 P03
105. LOVE AFFAIR (Leo McCarey, 1939) M
106. LUTHER (2003) P03
107. MAGNOLIA (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1999) M
108. MALCOLM X
109. A MAN ESCAPED
110. A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (Fred Zinnemann, 1966) VR
111. THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING (John Huston, 1975) M
112. THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST
113. MANON OF THE SPRINGS ("Manon des sources")
114. MASTER & COMMANDER
115. MATEWAN
116. THE MATRIX
117. METROPOLITAN (Whit Stillman, 1990)
118. THE MILKY WAY
119. MIRACLE MAKER
120. LES MISERABLES (Bille August)
121. LES MISERABLES DU VINGTIEME SIECLE (Claude LeLouche)
122. THE MISSION (Roland Joffe, 1986) VR
123. MOLOKAI
124. MONSIEUR VINCENT (Maurice Cloche, 1947) VR
125. THE MUSIC ROOM (Jalsagar)
126. NAZARIN (Luis Bunuel, 1958) VR
127. MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S
128. THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (Charles Laughton, 1955) M
129. THE NIGHTS OF CABIRIA
130. NOSTALGHIA
131. NOT OF THIS WORLD
132. ON THE WATERFRONT (Elia Kazan, 1954) VV
133. OPEN CITY ("Roma, citta apperta," Roberto Rossellini, 1946) VV
134. ORDET ("The Word," Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1955) M VR
135. THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928) VR
136. THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
137. PERCEVAL
138. PERSONAL VELOCITY
139. PETER & PAUL (Robert Day, 1981)
140. PHONE BOOTH
141. PICKPOCKET
142. PLACES IN THE HEART
143. PLEASANTVILLE
144. PONETTE
145. LA PROMESSE
146. PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE
147. QUILLS
148. RAGING BULL
149. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (Steven Spielberg, 1981)
150. RAN (Akira Kurosawa, 1985)
151. THE RAPTURE
152. RED BEARD ("Akahige," Akira Kurosawa, 1965) M
153. RITE OF SPRING ("Acto da primavera," Manoel de Oliveira, 1963) M
154. A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT (Robert Redford, 1992)
155. RIVERS & TIDES (2003) P03
156. THE ROBE
157. ROLLERBALL (Norman Jewison)
158. ROMERO
159. THE SACRIFICE ("Ofret," Andrei Tarkovsky, 1986) VR
160. SANSHO DAYU
161. SAVING GRACE (Robert M. Young, 1985)
162. SAVIOR
163. SCHINDLER'S LIST (Steven Spielberg, 1992) VV
164. SECRETS & LIES
165. THE SEVENTH SEAL (Ingmar Bergman, 1957) VV
166. THE SEVENTH SIGN (Carl Schultz, 1988)
167. SHADOWLANDS
168. THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
169. SIGNS (2002) P02
170. THE SILENCE ("Tystnaden," Ingmar Bergman, 1963) M
171. SIMON OF THE DESERT (Luis Bunuel, 1965) M
172. SISTER ACT
173. SLING BLADE
174. SMOKE
175. SOLARIS (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1974)
176. THE SON ("Le fils," Dardennes Brothers) P03
177. SON OF MAN
178. SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR (2002) P02
179. THE SPITFIRE GRILL
180. STALKER (Andrei Tarkovsky)
181. STARS IN MY CROWN
182. STEVIE (2003) P03
183. THE STRAIGHT STORY (David Lynch)
184. STRANGE CARGO
185. STROMBOLI
186. SUNRISE
187. TEARS OF THE SUN
188. TENDER MERCIES
189. THERESE (Alain Cavalier, 1986) VR
190. THE THIRD MIRACLE
191. THREE COLOURS: BLUE (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1993)
192. THREE COLOURS: WHITE (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994) M
193. TILAI ("The Law," Idrissa Ouedraogo, 1990) M
194. TO END ALL WARS
195. TOKYO STORY
196. THE TREE OF WOODEN CLOGS (Ermanno Olmi, 1978) VV
197. THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL
198. THE TRUMAN SHOW
199. UMBERTO D
200. UNBREAKABLE
201. UTAMARO & HIS FIVE WOMEN (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1946) M
202. UNFORGIVEN (Clint Eastwood, 1992) M
203. VERTIGO (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958) M
204. VANYA ON 42nd STREET
205. VOYAGE TO ITALY ("Viaggio in Italia," Roberto Rossellini, 1953) M
206. WAKING LIFE
207. A WALK TO REMEMBER
208. WHALE RIDER
209. WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND
210. THE WIDOW OF ST. PIERRE
211. WILD STRAWBERRIES (Ingmar Bergman, 1957) VV
212. THE WIND WILL CARRY US (Abbas Kiarostami, 1999) M
213. WINGS OF DESIRE
214. WINTER LIGHT ("Nattvardsgasterna," Ingmar Bergman, 1963) M
215. WIT
216. WITNESS
217. THE WRONG MAN
218. X-MEN
219. X-2
220. THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY
221. YENTL (Barbara Streisand, 1983)
222. YOU CAN COUNT ON ME
223. "Many of Stan Brakhage's shorts..."
224. "Any film by Ozu..."
225. "Eric Rohmer's films..."


P02: PFCC Most Significant Exploration of Spiritual Themes nominee, 2002
P03: PFCC Most Significant Exploration of Spiritual Themes nominee, 2003
M: Museum of Modern Art exhibition, "The Hidden God: Faith & Film" (2003)
VR: The Vatican Film List: Religion (1995)
VV: The Vatican Film List: Values (1995)

[BethR]

TIME BANDITS (1981)

Until someone makes an adequate Narnia, there are the Time Bandits and Ralph Richardson's "Supreme Being." Plus:

KEVIN [to Mum & Dad]: Don't touch it! It's EVIL!"

BOOM!

I rest my case.

[DanBuck]

Dead Man Walking? Hello?

[mike_h]

Here's some Studio Era films that have provoked spiritual/moral questions at screenings I've been a part of in recent years:

Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1931)
Freaks (1932)
The Island of Lost Souls (1933)
The Devil & Daniel Webster (1941)
Meet John Doe (1941)
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

and so have these:
Code Unknown (2000)
Dancing at Lughnasa (1998)
Burnt by the Sun (1994)
The Ice Storm (1997)
Pi (1998)

[mrmando]

You Can't Take It with You
Strange Cargo
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
The Bishop's Wife
Painted Desert
Mary Poppins
The Great Dictator
The Keys of the Kingdom
The Lilies of the Field
"M"
Metropolis
A Tale of Two Cities
The Scarlet Pimpernel
How Green Was My Valley
The Field

Not that such Disneytwaddle should make the list, but The North Avenue Irregulars and Hot Lead & Cold Feet both had explicit religious content...

[Peter T Chattaway]

Should I assume that we're only considering the 1990s version of Shadowlands? Or, since TV-movies like Peter and Paul have been mentioned, are we also considering the 1980s version of Shadowlands too? FWIW, I would add the 1950s and 1990s versions of Cry the Beloved Country to this list of nominees, too (though I've only seen the 1990s version).

[BethR]

QUOTE

Dead Man Walking?  Hello?

It's on the list--#48 in the Feb. 20 posting.

[BethR]

QUOTE

Should I assume that we're only considering the 1990s version of Shadowlands?  Or, since TV-movies like Peter and Paul have been mentioned, are we also considering the 1980s version of Shadowlands too?

Good question. I've always thought the 1980s version was better--by which I mean, the actors looked more like the real people they were supposed to be portraying, the theology was more solid, and the whole thing was less sentimental.

But I suppose we'll have to hammer this kind of question out in detail later.

[DanBuck]

QUOTE

QUOTE Dead Man Walking?  Hello? It's on the list--#48 in the Feb. 20 posting.

I swear that wasn't there this morning!!

[mrmando]

QUOTE

FWIW, I would add the 1950s and 1990s versions of Cry the Beloved Country to this list of nominees, too (though I've only seen the 1990s version).

The 1950s version is certainly worthy. (I haven't seen the 1990s version.)

But who nominated Left Behind? C'mon--next we'll be nominating Thief in the Night, A Distant Thunder, The Late Great Planet Earth, The Cross and the Switchblade...

Note to Ron: The above should not be considered a nomination of those films. I will, however, suggest The Hiding Place as well as the original Star Wars trilogy.

[Thom]

I don't really have anything new to add, which is why I haven't posted sooner, however I would like to second You Can't Take It With You and was glad to see the post mrmando. But let's not be too hard on a thief in the night

Close-Up is an interesting look at grace within the legal system so I really like that selection.

A Pure Formality is a new one I would add to this list.

[Doug C]

Romero
Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story
Diary of a City Priest
Repentance

[Darrel Manson]

Testament - Lynne Littman - 1983

[BethR]

Quote

Romero

Haven't seen the other three you mentioned, though doubtless they are worthy, but I can't believe I forgot this one, which certainly should be on the list. Also one of Raul Julia's great roles.